The present invention relates to packaging cartons, and is concerned particularly with points of sale cartons for small rectangular objects such as tape cassettes and 8-track tape cartridges.
Pre-recorded and blank tape cassettes and 8-track tape cartridges are marketed generally in packages only slightly larger than the exterior dimensions of the tape unit or in elongated cartons with windows which permit visual inspection of the cassette or cartridge packaged within the carton. These elongated cartons, commonly referred to as "spaghetti boxes" in the trade, which typically may include a vertical inner wall within the carton to prevent movement of a packaged casette in a first horizontal direction and an edge surface within the carton positioned beneath a cassette or cartridge to prevent movement of the packaged cassette or cartridge in a second horizontal direction. Both of these packages are disadvantageous for a number of reasons.
First, the small packages are highly susceptible to pilferage. See, for example, "The Pilferage Report," published in 1977 by GRT Corporation, 1286 N. Laurence Station Road, Sunnydale, Calif. 94086, a condensation of 200 page study regarding pilferage of pre-recorded tape cartridges and cassettes. Accordingly, it has been common in the trade to store tape selections, particularly the smaller type cassettes, behind locked glass panels. Additionally, and perhaps more importantly, sales are not realized because potential customers do not have ready access to the tape selection and are not free to browse. As a result, marketing costs are increased because of the need for sales personnel to assist customers who wish to purchase tape selections in the locked cabinets. In contrast, sales of record albums are more successful because potential customers are free to examine the record album selections and react to art work and other information printed on the record album containers.
A second problem is that packages for tape cartridges and cassettes are too small to include a significant portion of the art work and informational material such as producers and secondary artists (commonly called "credits") normally appearing on record album containers. At best, the artwork on cassette and cartridge packages heretofore available was a sub-miniature of the artwork on the corresponding album and was sometimes barely legible.
A third problem is that record album containers in many cases include bulk material such as librettos, artists' posters, lyric sheets or illustrated booklet accompanying the record. These materials are typically not included in the packages heretofore used for tape cartridges or cassettes. Therefore, cassette and cartridge purchasers receive less than record purchasers. In order to alleviate this problem, record companies have, in many instances, undertaken to provide insert cards with cassettes and cartridges so that purchasers can order these materials. The fulfillment cost of handling and mailing, usually supplied with the records directly from the record company increases the cost of the record companies of marketing cassettes and cartridges.
Another serious problem in the packaging of tape cartridges or cassettes is the lack of uniformity of carton size. Tape cartridges and cassettes are usually packaged in different size cartons. This results in increased handling and shipping costs for the record companies and requires separate inventories to be kept for cassette packages and cartridge packages.
A serious problem with the "spaghetti boxes" referred to above is that the boxes are not selection oriented; that is, they usually do not provide any artwork on the box which distinguishes the box containing a particular cassette or cartridge from another box containing a different cartridge or cassette. Thus, the "spaghetti box" packages also limit the marketing of cassettes and cartridges.
Accordingly, it is the primary object of the present invention to provide a carton of uniform size made from a single piece carton blank which is adapted to contain either a tape cartridge or tape cassette and which is sufficiently large to lessen the likelihood of pilferage.
It is another object of this invention to provide a selection-oriented carton for packaging a cassette or a cartridge on which the same artwork appearing on the front and back of the corresponding record packages appears on the front and back panels of the carton, reduced only slighly in size; and further, a carton which can be embossed, pebbled, laminated or gold stamped and generally receive the same surface treatment as corresponding record albums.
A further object is to provide a carton for the packaging of a tape cassette or cartridge which is sufficiently large to contain the same bulk material such as posters, lyric sheets, and the like, which are contained within record packages and, also, such collateral material as tape cleaners and catalogs.
Another object of this invention is to provide a carton for packaging cassettes and cartridges that can accept a machine readable Universal Product Code and that can be machine loaded with a cartridge or cassette.